DIt is planned to enjoy the statutory rights of full-day care for elementary schools nationwide, starting from the 2026/2027 school year. On Monday night, the federal and state governments reached a final compromise on the financing dispute of the project in the Bundestag and Bundestag Mediation Committee. The government and country representatives welcomed the agreement and talked about a good day for children and families.
The two houses must now formally agree to this. This should take place at the last Bundestag meeting scheduled during the legislative period on Tuesday, and may be held in the Bundestag on Friday. If the mediation committee does not reach an agreement, the law may not be passed before the federal election and will become invalid: laws that are not finalized during the legislative period will be affected by so-called discontinuities. They must be reintroduced and negotiated in the newly elected Bundestag.
“Today is a good day for German families”
The mediation committee is also under time pressure: According to negotiators, an agreement must be reached before midnight to submit an official referral deadline in the Bundestag the next day.
Federal Chancellor candidate Armin Raschelt (CDU) told the German News Agency: “Today is a good day for German families. The legal right to full-time primary schooling is a milestone in the compatibility of family and work.” Federal Education that participated in the negotiations Minister Anja Kallicek (CDU) talked about a “very good night” for families and children. “Under the compromise reached by the federal government and the states, a very large and important project during the current government and legislative period is now being implemented.”
Carsten Schneider, the managing director of the SPD parliament group, spoke about the tremendous progress of children and families, who will bear a considerable burden, especially in the last few months of the pandemic.
From the 2026/2027 school year
The legal claim is the last major item of the coalition agreement between the coalition and the Social Democratic Party, and the outgoing major coalition is still being implemented. It is planned that every child who starts school in the 2026/2027 school year has the right to obtain a full-time degree in the first four school years. In some federal states-especially in the east-there are already claims. In other countries, there are still many new places to be created.
The federal states have asked the federal government to substantially increase the share of investment and operating costs, and stopped the project in the Bundesrat before the summer and submitted it to the conciliation committees of the Bundestag and the Bundestag. Recently, Baden-Württemberg in particular has put pressure on the federal government and insisted on providing more funds.
